


Everything and More

by SlayerFest98



Series: The Doctor and the Captain [3]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Established Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Ianto is a saint, M/M, Post-Episode: s04e02 The Fires of Pompeii, Roughly mid s2 Torchwood, conflicted Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:00:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26192329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlayerFest98/pseuds/SlayerFest98
Summary: Jack has been getting a lot of visits from the Doctor lately, which tended to mean danger or drama... or both. This time, however, the Doctor shows up at Torchwood and he looks right as rain, and the world doesn't seem to be ending. So why has the Doctor shown up on Jack's doorstep again? It can't be to give Jack everything he ever wanted... can it? And if it is... what about Torchwood? And what about Ianto?When the Doctor shows up with a proposition for Jack, can he find a way to get everything he ever wanted and more?
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Tenth Doctor/Jack Harkness
Series: The Doctor and the Captain [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/49969
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So! A new story for this series! I am reworking the order of this series because I realised that there are so many more stories that I want to tell before I get to A Lesson in Self Worth. This is basically what I like to imagine happens in between episodes of Torchwood and Doctor Who if the Doctor and Jack got their shit together! Enjoy!

It was quiet in the Torchwood Three hub underneath Cardiff. In fact, the whole week had been relatively quiet by Jack Harkness’ standards. The Weevils that had been tagged and shifted the week before were behaving themselves and only one Rift anomaly had been detected by the team, the debris from which Jack was currently sorting through on the conference room table. There was no spaceship, just some run of the mill space junk flung through the Rift but Jack thought there might be some useful gear to salvage, nonetheless.

Due to the calmness of the week, Jack had already had already reached his weekly sleep quota and had enough energy to keep tinkering with the space debris all night. Jack reached for his coffee cup only to realise that it was completely empty and apparently had been for some time. He looked at his watch to find that it was nearly midnight, meaning it must have been hours since Ianto had last filled his cup and kissed him goodnight.

He had let the team go early as he preferred to do cataloguing like this by himself. It made him feel closer to the universe somehow, to tinker with objects that had come from across galaxies to end up in this little corner of Earth. Jack didn’t mind sharing the cataloguing with Ianto, though, as the man had an eye for detail and a care for all things alien that made Jack trust him with the storage of their growing collection. Having said that, when they were cataloguing together things rarely got done, much to Owen’s consternation.

Jack was just thinking about making another pot of coffee when he heard a beeping from the monitors down in the main hub. Jack’s brow furrowed in concern as he made his way down to the beeping monitor. The team would be pissed if he had to call them in for a late-night emergency. What he found on the screen, however, was a sight that made him smile. A blue box had appeared just below the obelisk in the Plass.

Perhaps the Doctor needed to refuel, Jack thought to himself.

He was pondering whether to go up to the TARDIS or wait here for the Doctor to come to him when the door opened and the man himself popped his head out. He looked around the empty Plass for a moment before spotting the security camera that Jack was watching from, a wide grin spreading across his face. The Doctor waved at the security camera before beckoning him towards the Police Box and disappearing back inside.

Jack smiled and shook his head fondly, moving to fetch his coat and head up to the surface. At least the Doctor looked to be in better shape than he had been the last time he had appeared on Jack’s doorstep.

Upon reaching the surface, Jack strode across the Plass quickly and unlocked the TARDIS door with the key that he kept hanging around his neck. When he entered the control room, Jack saw the Time Lord squinting at the ship’s monitor through his glasses.

At the squeaking of the door, the Doctor looked up and grinned again, pulling his glasses from his nose, “Ah, Jack! Nice to see you! You look well. Timeless, as always!”

Jack smiled as he approached the Doctor. He was pleased they had gotten past the fact that he was a fixed point. The immortal was glad that he didn’t seem to make the Doctor uncomfortable anymore.

When he reached his friend, Jack pulled him in for a hug, “Good to see you too, Doctor! I’m flattered by the number of visits I’ve been getting lately!” Jack held the Doctor at arm’s length and surveyed him, “You look better than the last time I saw you, that’s for sure.”

The Doctor pursed his lips for a moment, looking embarrassed, “Yeah, I am better, thanks. You know how it is, keep moving forward, just like you said!”

Jack nodded and stepped away, satisfied that the Doctor really was okay. He shoved his hands in his pockets as the Doctor perched himself on the jump seat, “So, are you refuelling? Or did you just miss me?”

The Doctor shook his head at Jack’s trademark sly grin before shifting slightly uncomfortably and averting his gaze to his trainers.

“A bit of both?” the Doctor said quietly, almost making the statement into a question, as though he wasn’t sure himself what he was doing there.

Jack eyebrows rose to his hairline in disbelief, “Really? Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Not that I’m complaining, but when you stop by it’s not typically for a social call.”

The Doctor stood and moved to the console to fiddle with some switches and buttons, “Well, I picked someone up recently and we’re travelling together. Donna her name is, she’s brilliant. So, I thought I better top up on fuel before we head off again. I just dropped her off at a day spa, she said she didn't want to sit around for hours in Cardiff of all places... and here I am.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at the Time Lord, there was something he wasn’t telling him, “Well that’s great. I’m glad you found someone to travel with.”

The Doctor smiled at him and they both fell into an uncertain silence. Jack was sure the Doctor was working his way up to saying something. He wasn’t sure he actually wanted to hear what it was if it was taking the Doctor this long to figure out how to say it. The Doctor was many things, but rarely was he short of words.

“Well, if you have to park here for a bit, we could go grab a bite to eat? Or we could stay here and order pizza or something? I don’t know if the local place will deliver to a mysterious blue box though…”

The Doctor finally tore his gaze away from the console to smile at him, apparently glad that Jack had broken the silence. He headed towards the TARDIS doors and grabbed his coat, “Why don’t we go for a walk and see what takes our fancy?”

“Lead the way,” Jack agreed, following the Doctor out into the cool night air. 

Jack was sure something was going on that the Doctor wasn’t talking about, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack and the Doctor wandered through the Plass and along the waterfront, both with their hands in their pockets and a comfortable silence hanging between them. Jack felt sure that it was more special to spend quiet moments like these with the Doctor as opposed to having him babbling away. For a man who talks so much, very rarely does he actually say anything. Some of Jack’s most cherished memories were when the Doctor had trusted him enough to show him how to maintain the TARDIS and they would tinker away in comfortable silence, neither one feeling the need to fill the air.

Eventually, they found a kebab shop that was still open, and the Doctor ordered enough chips for both of them and then some. Jack paid without question, earning a grateful smile from the Doctor, who grabbed the bag of chips and headed towards the pier. He plopped down at the end of the pier with his legs hanging over the edge, placing the chips beside him. Jack sat down next to him, mirroring his position, and they began to eat.

After a moment or two, Jack decided to break the quiet, “So, where have you and Donna come from? Anywhere nice?”

The Doctor chewed his mouthful of chips thoughtfully before speaking, avoiding direct eye contact, “Actually, we just came from Pompeii. Turns out I didn’t set my alarm for Volcano Day because, of course, that’s the day we happened to arrive. It made me think of you, actually. You know, when we first met?”

The Doctor trailed off awkwardly. Jack’s brow furrowed at his friend’s strange behaviour, but he smiled at the memory of their first meeting, “I remember. I had a few close calls myself at Pompeii. Did you guys get out okay?”

The Doctor nodded but his eyes were sad, “It was close, that’s for sure, but we made it. Donna begged me to stop it. Begged me to save them all, or at least save someone. Anyone. So, I went back for this one family and pulled them out. Only four of them, but I suppose it all goes towards easing my conscience…”

The Doctor fell silent again. Something must have happened to make him talk this way, Jack thought. He shuffled an inch or two closer to the alien beside him so that he could press his shoulder against the Doctor’s bonier one, nudging him gently.

“What happened?”

The Doctor swallowed hard, gazing distantly down into the water as though he was seeing events from a million miles away and thousands of years ago, “Turns out I was the one who made Vesuvius erupt. I had to, there was no other choice. There were these creatures, Pyroviles, living off the heat inside the mountain and using the energy to convert humans, eventually they would have taken over the planet. And, as you know, the eruption is a fixed point but while they were inside the volcano it wasn’t going to erupt so I had to do it... I set it off. Well, Donna helped me but still. I destroyed the Pyroviles and took the whole of Pompeii with them. All to save the planet. Again.”

The Doctor sighed, “Sometimes, winning feels an awful lot like losing no matter what I do.”

Jack put his arm around the Doctor and squeezed his shoulders supportively. The universe never gives him a break does it, Jack thought. He didn’t really know what to say.

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” he said eventually.

The Doctor leaned into Jack’s embrace slightly and reached for more chips, “Me too.”

They sat quietly for a few minutes, Jack’s arm resting around the Doctor’s shoulders while they ate more chips. When the bag was empty, Jack turned to the Doctor, “Why are you really here? It sounds like this Donna is doing a great job with you, so why come to me?”

The Doctor tugged at his earlobe in discomfort, still avoiding Jack’s gaze and said haltingly, “I’ve been thinking about the last time I was here. About, how I said that maybe one day I would be ready to give it a try. Being with you, I mean. I suppose, going to Pompeii made me realise that no matter how wonderful the people I travel with are, there’s only one person in the universe who can even come close to understanding the burden of being so old and seeing so much death. And I saw all those people, all those lives, just snuffed out in the blink of an eye and I asked myself why I’m wasting time. All either of us have is time, after all…”

As the Doctor spoke, Jack’s arm fell away from the Doctor’s shoulders. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In fact, it was entirely possible that this was some bizarre dream and that he was still sitting down in the hub, having fallen asleep while cataloguing. This couldn’t be real, because the Doctor was saying exactly what Jack had wanted to hear for so long, but he had been certain the Doctor would never be interested.

“What I’m trying to say is,” the Doctor continued after a pause, eyes lifting to meet Jack’s, “that maybe I’m ready now. Maybe we could give it a shot? I mean I haven’t done anything like that in, well, a very, very long time, but I want to try. With you, I think that maybe I could because you’re a constant, Jack. When the universe crumbles around me, I know that you’ll still be there for me…”

“Doctor, just wait a second. This is a lot to take in,” Jack interrupted the Doctor’s increasingly nervous babbling, holding up a hand to cease the flow of words. “Give me a minute… this is so unexpected!”

The Doctor looked slightly abashed, “Of course, I’m sorry. I’ll just… stop talking now.”

Jack exhaled a shaky breath, trying to wrap his head around what he just heard. The Doctor wanted to try being with him. The Doctor wanted to be with Jack. This was what he had always wanted to hear, Jack had hoped with all his heart that it would happen, despite all the signs saying it could never be. But now that it had actually happened, all he could think of was Ianto and the Torchwood team. His family.

Jack turned to face the Doctor more fully, taking the Time Lord’s hands in his gently and meeting his nervous brown eyes, “I have been hoping you’d show up on my doorstep one day and say this to me for, hell, hundreds of years. But Doctor, the situation is so much more complicated…”

He saw a flash of hurt in the Doctor’s eyes before his face closed off entirely. The Doctor pulled his hands out of Jack’s grasp and averted his gaze, nodding vigorously, “Of course, I understand. It was silly of me really…”

Jack grabbed the Doctor’s hands again desperately and held on tightly, “No! That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying that I have to think about my team and my life here at Torchwood. If we do this, I can’t just up and leave them behind. And I have to think about Ianto…”

At this, the Doctor looked back towards Jack with worried eyes, “Ianto, of course. How could I forget… Do you love him, Jack?”

Jack nodded, “Yeah, I do love him. But I know that one day he won’t be around anymore, and I’ll be left to go on, like I always am. Just like you are.” Jack cupped the Doctor’s face gently, “I love you too, Doctor. I always have and I always will. But if you want to be with me, you have to understand that I have loved other people and I probably will continue to love other people in the future. That’s just how I am. But knowing that you will always be around, even after all those others are gone... that thought keeps me going.”

The Doctor smiled hesitantly, “Of course you should love other people, Jack. You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t! But what does that mean for… this? Do you want to try being with me or…?”

“I do. I can’t think of anything that would make me happier,” Jack said and the Doctor’s face broke into a small, hopeful smile, “But I’ll have to discuss this with my team, and I’ll have to talk to Ianto. We’ve never explicitly discussed whether we were exclusive or not, but I need to work things out with him. If he says no, then we might have to wait a little longer.”

The Doctor’s face fell a little at this, but he nodded and began to get to his feet, “I understand. Maybe for now I should just go…”

Jack jumped to his feet and grasped the Doctor by the shoulders to prevent him from running away, “Wait! Let me talk to my team. Give me a few days to think and sort things out and then we can go from there. What do you say?”

The Doctor shifted his weight uncertainly, looking around as though trying to find a way to escape this situation, where he was completely out of his depth. Jack grabbed the side of his face and turned the Doctor back to look at him, “Please, Doc, just give me a few days. I’m not saying no, I just need to organise a few things.”

The Doctor studied Jack’s face intently, perhaps looking for signs of insincerity that would give him an excuse to run away. After a few long moments, he covered Jack’s hand with his own and nodded, “Alright. I’ll come back in a couple of days to see you. Then we can figure things out from there.”

Jack smiled brightly, allowing himself to feel a surge of hope and joy for what could be. He placed a delicate kiss to the Doctor’s cheek and pulled him into a hug, “Thank you.”

When they separated, the Doctor smiled at Jack shyly, uncertainty creasing his brow, but his eyes were shining with cautious optimism. Jack picked up the remains of their chips and slung an arm around the Doctor, “Come on, I’ll walk you to the TARDIS.”

The two men strolled back to the Plass and came to a halt in front of the Police Box. The Doctor looked suddenly hesitant once more, “Shall I just hop forwards a few days, then?”  
Jack leaned against the side of the TARDIS and regarded the Doctor seriously, “If you’re going to take off, I need you to promise me – and I mean absolutely promise me – that you’ll go straight there. Don’t wander off and over think things, just give me three days and go there right now. Promise?”

The Doctor nodded, “I promise.”

When Jack raised an unconvinced eyebrow, the Doctor sighed and rolled his eyes, “I promise, alright! Here, count how many buttons I’ve got done up on my coat. Then you’ll know I came straight from here.”

Jack thought for a moment, before a sly grin crept onto his face as he had an idea, “I don’t know if that’s proof enough. You could just memorise how many buttons you had done up if you decided to leave. How about something a little more recognisable…”

The Doctor looked confused as Jack crowded the Doctor back against the side of the TARDIS, “What do you…”

Jack pulled aside the collar of the Doctor’s shirt and latched his mouth onto the soft, pale skin he found there. The Doctor gasped as Jack’s lips closed around the skin of the alien’s neck and he sucked gently, drawing the skin between his teeth to nip and suck, before licking and kissing the irritated skin to soothe it. The Doctor grasped Jack’s biceps hard, as though he was trying to anchor himself under the unexpected onslaught of Jack’s practiced mouth.

Jack soon pulled away and surveyed his handiwork; a nice red mark was beginning to appear beneath the Time Lord’s collar. Jack smiled cheekily at the dazed and surprised expression on the Doctor’s face as he straightened the other man’s tie and collar back into place.

“There. If that hasn’t faded by the time you get back, I’ll know you’ve come straight from this moment.”

The Doctor swallowed hard and nodded absently.

Jack smiled at him again before stepping away, “I’ll see you in a few moments then!”

The Doctor finally seemed to come back to himself a little, and he smiled at Jack. He turned and opened the door of the TARDIS, peering back through the doorway.

“I look forward to it!” the Doctor said quietly, before disappearing inside his ship.

Jack took a few more steps back as the blue box began to disappear. He grinned to himself, feeling hope unfurl in his chest as he made his way back to his office to devise a game plan for the upcoming talk he would need to have with his team, and with Ianto in particular.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning found Jack cataloguing the last few pieces of space junk when Ianto arrived at the hub. Jack was almost exactly where he had left him the night before, which made Ianto smile and shake his head. He went to put on a pot of coffee.

Jack knew that Ianto was always the first one in and he was hoping to talk to the Welshman before the others arrived. He had been thinking over what to say to Ianto all night after the Doctor had left, but in the end, he had decided to just wing it and speak as honestly as possible. Every time Jack had thought of something to say, it came across as contrived or forced, so he was hoping that his usual approach of barging headlong into a situation would suffice.

When he saw Ianto arrive and start preparing the coffee, Jack set aside the last few objects that he was sorting and waited for Ianto to come up to the conference room. He didn’t have to wait long; Ianto was nothing if not efficient. Jack got to his feet to open the door for Ianto as he brought in two cups of coffee.

“Good morning!” Jack crooned as Ianto passed, deliberately standing well within the other man’s personal space.

Ianto smirked and went about setting the coffees on the table, “Good morning, Jack. Did you have a productive night?”

Jack took a fortifying breath and sat himself back down at the table, gesturing for Ianto to join him, “Yeah, I got most of the sorting done. There’s a few good things among all the crap.”

Ianto sat down also and nodded. It seemed as though Jack was gearing up to say something and judging by the serious expression on his usually grinning face, Ianto was slightly nervous about what it might be.

“Did something happen last night? Are you okay?”

Jack smiled wryly. Ianto really was too intuitive for his own good, “You know me so well! Yeah something happened, something… unexpected.”

Jack seemed reluctant to go on, perhaps he was trying to find the right words, Ianto thought. He attempted to coax some more information out of the secretive captain, “Was it an ‘end of the world’ kind of something or a ‘personal’ something? Or both… that does sometimes happen…”

Jack huffed a dry laugh, “Yeah it tends to, doesn’t it? It was a personal something… The Doctor showed up last night.”

Ianto took a carefully controlled breath. Whenever the Doctor was around that usually meant trouble with a hefty serving of drama to go with it. Jack had told Ianto about the last time the Doctor had showed up unexpectedly, how he had been so depressed that he had drunk almost a whole bottle of whisky in one sitting and got so drunk that he had acted out against Jack. Ianto didn’t know what exactly happened, as Jack refused to tell him, but Jack had spent all night making sure the Doctor was okay. It seemed no matter what the Doctor did, Jack would always forgive him.

Despite Ianto’s anger with the Doctor for treating Jack the way he had, he hoped that the alien was okay. After all, he appreciated everything the Doctor had done to save Jack from his own mind, not to mention saving the universe every other day. Nonetheless, Ianto was concerned by what a visit from the mysterious Doctor might mean.

“Is he in trouble?” Ianto asked, keeping his tone carefully blank.

“No, he’s, uh, he’s fine. He stopped by to refuel and we grabbed some food while he was waiting. We talked about a lot of things. He actually came to ask me something,” Jack took a deep breath and said in a rapid jumble of words, “You know how I feel about the Doctor, Ianto. Remember when I said that the Doctor would never think of me the same way?”

Ianto’s gut twisted. Surely Jack couldn’t mean that the Doctor had come back for him. The thought of loosing Jack to the Doctor made Ianto’s blood run cold with dread… and how could Jack say no to such an offer? Was this Jack saying that he was going to leave him behind as Ianto had silently feared? Ianto’s hands clenched into fists where they rested in his lap, an irrational anger bubbling to the surface. Did the Doctor think he had some sort of claim over Jack? How dare he come back and upend their lives like this…

While Ianto’s emotions were raging, jack continued speaking.

“Well… he showed up on my doorstep last night and said that he’s been thinking about his life, and how the people around him will all be gone one day but he will have to go on, alone… I guess he had a bit of an epiphany or something,” Jack huffed a disbelieving laugh, “He said that he wants to give it a try, being with me in a romantic way. And now I don’t know what to do because I love him, Ianto, you know that. But I love you as well!”

Jack got to his feet and began to pace restlessly, running a hand through his hair. Clearly the Doctor showing up had Jack feeling just as conflicted as Ianto, who sat completely still aside from his clenched fists and an almost imperceptible tightening of his jaw. Frankly, Ianto was dumbfounded. When he had met the Doctor, he had also been convinced that the alien would never be interested in that sort of thing with anyone. What could have happened for someone like the Doctor to reconsider?

Suddenly, Ianto felt some of his anger drain away. Perhaps the sadness that Ianto remembered seeing in the alien’s ancient eyes was catching up to him. Perhaps he too was only looking for someone to share his tumultuous life with, just like everyone else.

 _But why does it have to be Jack_ , Ianto thought stubbornly, even though he recognised how petulant that inner voice sounded. But his imagination kept going, _what if he decides to never come back? Or what if the Doctor breaks his heart again?_

It wasn’t until Jack turned to him and stopped his whirlwind of movement all of a sudden that Ianto realised he had been completely silent and frozen for a good minute or so.  
Jack’s face was nervous and vulnerable as he shifted his weight and said quietly, “Say something?”

Ianto shifted in his chair, trying to think logically through the roller-coaster of emotions inside his head. Eventually, he settled on what he wanted to say, “Answer me this. Do people who get close to the Doctor end up getting hurt?”

Jack opened his mouth to protest but Ianto went on before he had the chance, “All I’m saying is that I don’t want you to get hurt. You told me that the last time he was here, the Doctor said some cruel things. And when you got back from being away with him, well, you weren’t exactly in great shape. I’m grateful for what he did to help you with the Master, but it just seems to me that whenever the Doctor is around, people get hurt. I don’t want that for you… because I love you, too.”

Jack was still for a moment. Ianto was so wrong about the Doctor, he thought, but so right at the same time. He had been hurt by the Time Lord on many occasions, some more devastating than others, but the Doctor was worth caring about. Jack didn’t know if Ianto could ever understand that. On the other hand, perhaps Ianto understood all too well. He loved Jack after all.

Jack sat back down in his chair and regarded Ianto openly, “You’re right, the Doctor has hurt me many times, and sometimes the people around him get hurt too. But he’s so much more than just destruction. He is joy and adrenaline, and he’s wonderful! But he also knows sorrow and loneliness. And that’s why I forgive him. Because I know what it’s like to live long enough to only see the damage left behind you.”

Jack paused and took Ianto’s hand, “For instance, I want to be with you so much, you make my life brighter just by being in it. But I know that I will outlive you, whether you retire and die old, surrounded by dozens of grandchildren or if you die too young in the line of duty. The fact is that one day you’ll be gone. You and I, we can be together for the rest of your days, but I will keep going and going, forever… When you’ve lived as long as the Doctor and I, the number of people who get hurt or end up dead starts to pile up, and the Doctor is the only one in the universe who understands what that’s like. So I forgive him, and hopefully he’ll forgive me, because we’re too old to do it for ourselves. And perhaps knowing that I’ll have to go on while everything ends around me will be more bearable if I know that he’ll be there with me, to love me the way I have always loved him.”

Jack seemed to run out of words, his head dropping to his chest with the exhaustion of his confession. Ianto blinked back the moisture in his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. Ianto knew in his heart that he and Jack could never be together forever, but neither of them had ever stated it so plainly. He had tried not to think about the fact that Jack could never die and would never age, while Ianto would grow old or have his life cut short. Ianto wasn’t sure which one was worse, having to age and move on without Jack, or to die too soon and leave Jack all alone.

Ianto wrapped a gentle hand around the back of Jack’s neck and pulled the immortal’s head to his chest. He rested his cheek in Jack’s hair and breathed him in for a moment, “Okay. Thank you for telling me. I just have one more question.”

Ianto drew back slightly, “What happens if I say that I don’t want you to see him? What will you do?”

Jack met the other man’s gaze evenly and said without hesitation, “Then I won’t see him, not like that anyway. I can’t help it if he needs my help to save the world, but I will promise you that I won’t be with him like that. After all, I’ve waited this long for him, I could wait a little longer.”

Ianto cupped Jack’s face and studied his expression. He could see that Jack was being honest with him, and Ianto believed the immortal when he said he would honour Ianto’s wishes, but he could see that there was a pain behind Jack’s eyes at the idea of saying no to the Doctor.

“Okay,” Ianto said, caressing Jack’s cheek gently, “I think I need a bit of time to digest all this. I need to think about what I want… Can we talk again later?”

Jack took a deep breath, trying to compose himself after his confessions. He kissed Ianto briefly and nodded, “Of course, take your time. Sleep on it and we can talk about it more later.”

Ianto gave Jack a small, sweet smile before kissing him again more thoroughly this time. At the sound of the large door to the hub rumbling open, Ianto pulled away and cleared his throat.

“You should drink your coffee before it gets too cold,” Ianto said softly, before getting to his feet and leaving the room.

Jack smiled after him. He hoped that Ianto understood what he had been trying to say. The whole situation was so complex, but if anyone could handle it, it was Ianto.


	4. Chapter 4

Jack sent Ianto to work in the archives for the day in an attempt to give him some peace and quiet to think things over. He told him to pack away the space debris that Jack had deemed useless while he and the rest of the team went through the small collection of salvageable material that they might be able to use. Gwen actually asked Jack if Ianto had done anything wrong, as she was worried that perhaps they had had a fight for Jack to banish Ianto to the archives for the entire day. Jack assured her that wasn’t the case and made his escape before she could ask any more questions. Clearly, she realised that something was up, but Jack was determined not to talk to the team about it until Ianto had made up his mind.

Down in the archives, Ianto was glad that Jack had separated him from the rest of the team. He always found it easier to think down in the archives, as the repetitive task of sorting and packing the alien paraphernalia seemed to calm his thoughts. And the thoughts he was having were so confusing, he needed all the peace he could get.

It was selfish of him, but Ianto hated the idea of Jack being with the Doctor. If it was just a random person and it was just sex, Ianto would actually not mind as much. He knew Jack was a very sexual being, and Ianto understood that his near constant flirting with everyone he met didn’t diminish his commitment to Ianto. Jack’s love for the Doctor, however… It was so powerful that it had endured over a hundred years and thousands of light-years of distance. Ianto didn’t know if he could compete with a love like that, despite Jack’s declarations of affection for him.

But then, Ianto thought of the devastated look in Jack’s eyes at the thought of turning the Doctor down. Jack had said he would give the Doctor up for him, even though Ianto could see it would break his heart. What greater gesture of Jack’s love for Ianto could there be?

He also thought about how sad Jack looked at the knowledge that Ianto and the team would die and he would have to go on alone, but also how resigned he seemed in his sadness. It made Ianto wonder just how many people Jack had loved and lost in his long lifetime. He supposed that the Doctor also had a long list of people that were no longer around.

Would Ianto become just one more loved one that contributed to the burden of loss Jack carried? Would the Doctor be able to share that burden? All Ianto knew for certain was that he couldn’t stand the thought of Jack in pain, and Ianto knew that Jack has had to deal with more than most people could ever imagine.

As all of these thoughts and questions crossed Ianto’s mind, something became clear. Even though Ianto couldn’t stop himself from causing Jack more pain, he could at least put aside his jealousy to make sure that someone would be there to comfort him after everyone at Torchwood was gone.

Towards the end of the day, Ianto made his way back up to the hub to report that all the debris had been safely stored away. When Jack thanked him and smiled, it was a more fragile smile than his typical megawatt grin. Ianto could tell that Gwen wanted to speak to him, as she kept throwing him pointed stares all afternoon. He never gave her the opportunity to corner him though, always finding something that needed his attention far away from her curious and slightly concerned glances.

By the time the rest of the team left for the day, (Gwen being practically dragged from the hub by Tosh, who was trying to spare Ianto from the policewoman’s clear desire for an interrogation) it was nearly dinner time.

Ianto approached Jack’s office and knocked on the door, “Shall I get us some food?”

Jack looked at him slightly warily from across his desk, trying to figure out whether Ianto wanted to eat dinner to give him good news or to try and soften the blow of his decision, “Sure. Whatever you want is fine with me.”

Ianto smiled at the lack of subtlety in that comment and ordered Chinese to be delivered to the tourist information office. When the food arrived, Ianto took it out to the couch and started setting out the boxes. Jack emerged from his office to join Ianto on the couch, and they proceeded to eat dinner in slightly awkward silence.

By the time all the cartons of food were empty, Jack was practically vibrating with tension, “I take it you’ve made a decision?”

Ianto nodded, “Yes I have. I appreciate you sending me down to the archive, it gave me the space to think. I suppose I have another question for you though…”

When Jack gestured for him to continue, Ianto took a fortifying breath. Asking Jack about his personal life before Torchwood hardly ever yielded results, but he had to ask, “How many people have you loved in your lifetime, and do you still love them?”

Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion, not quite understanding where Ianto was going with this but he answered as honestly as he could, “I’ve been, uh, intimate with hundreds at this point, but there have only been a handful that I have really, truly loved. And I remember every single one of them. I carry them with me always; both the happiness they gave me and the heartbreak that they aren’t around anymore.”

Ianto nodded again and continued, “I realised today that I want that. I want to be one of those people you carry around with you. Just because we know how this will end, doesn’t mean it’s not worth the time it takes to get there, right? And what you said this morning, that you’d be willing to give the Doctor up for me, made me realise how lucky I am. The fact that you love me even though you know our time together will cause you pain... I am very lucky indeed.”

Jack shook his head; he was even more confused now. He appreciated Ianto’s words, he really did, but at this point all he wanted was answers, “So what are you saying, exactly?”

Ianto placed a hand on Jack’s thigh and squeezed reassuringly, “I’m saying that I want to know that you’ll have someone there for you after me and Gwen and Tosh and Owen are gone. I want us to be the people that you carry in your heart with you… but it would make me a lot happier to know that someone was there to help you bear that burden. Someone to look after you when I’m no longer around to do it.”

A cautious bloom of hope began to unfurl in Jack’s chest, was Ianto saying what it seemed he was saying?

“If anyone can love more than one person at a time, it’s you, Jack,” Ianto said quietly with a wry smile, “because you have so much life and love to give. So, the bottom line is, I don’t mind you being with the Doctor as long as you always come home to me, and to the team. And when you come back, I just want you to remind me how much you love me.”

Jack blinked back the sudden moisture threatening to overflow from his eyes, he was so overcome with delight. Ianto was truly exceptional, and Jack doubted whether the Welshman understood the enormity of the gift he had just given him.

Jack pulled Ianto into a crushing hug, “Thank you, Ianto. You have no idea how much this means to me…” Jack leaned back and met Ianto’s gaze intensely, “I promise, I will always come back to you. I’ll have to work out a schedule or something for the Doctor, so I know when he’s planning to visit. And he has a time machine, so I can go away with him and be back the next day!” Jack paused, suddenly uncertain, “You’re sure you don’t mind me going away with him every now and then?”

“No, just make sure you always come back,” Ianto said, smiling at the sheer joy in Jack’s face. How could he have said no and denied the man he loved so much happiness. As he had said, if anyone could have multiple relationships across all of time and space it would be Jack.

“I know!” Jack exclaimed, his face lighting up, “The Doctor can give you a phone that can contact me no matter where or when I am, so I’ll be able to contact you. And you’d be able to call me if you needed me.”

“I’d like that,” Ianto said earnestly. “I think the worst part of you leaving would be wondering when I’ll see you again. If we had a way to keep in touch, that would ease my mind I think.”

Jack kissed Ianto passionately, before saying, “I promise, I’ll always find a way back to you, and to the team. I’m so glad you said yes!” Jack kissed Ianto again, a little more gently this time.

“Well, I was jealous at first,” Ianto admitted, averting his eyes from Jack’s intense gaze. “I thought, ‘how can I ever compete with someone like the Doctor’? But then I realised that we don’t have to compete. I reckon there’s enough room in your heart for both of us.”

“There absolutely is!” Jack grinned. His voice then dropped to a sultry whisper, “Come to bed with me…”

Ianto kissed Jack, but it wasn’t a passionate foreplay kind of kiss. This one was sweet and vulnerable, “I’ll come to bed with you. But will you just hold me tonight? I think I just need some rest; it’s been a long day.”

Jack sobered immediately, “Of course, whatever you need.”

They got to their feet and Jack embraced Ianto again, trying to pour all his gratitude and love into the hug. Ianto took Jack by the hand and they made their way down to Jack’s bunk, where they lay in each other’s arms until Ianto fell asleep. Jack didn’t feel the need to sleep, but he was more than happy to lay with Ianto all night, watching him rest and marvelling at how lucky he was to have such an amazing person in his life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but smutty ;)

The next morning, Ianto emerged from sleep feeling warm and comfortable. He sighed in contentment as he shifted slightly against the warm body pressed up against him. He peeled his eyes open to look at the clock. It was still early, and he turned his head to find a brilliant pair of blue eyes staring at him. He could also feel something hard and insistent prodding his hip.

“Morning sunshine,” Jack crooned in his ear, before kissing and nibbling the shell.

Ianto smiled and hummed, deliberately shifting again so that Jack’s morning wood rubbed against his hip, “Good morning, indeed.”

Jack’s breath hitched slightly at the movement, chuckling seductively in Ianto’s ear, and making shivers run down his spine. He ran a hand down Ianto’s chest to rest at his hip, “Is this alright?”

Ianto was slightly surprised that Jack had asked so gently, usually he was more inclined to just take action and see how far he could go. Perhaps he was still trying to give Ianto some space after yesterday, the Welshman thought, which was very sweet but not necessary. While Ianto may agonise over decisions, once he had made them that was that and he typically didn’t think on them much further.

“Yeah, it’s good,” Ianto said, rolling onto his back and tugging at Jack to encourage him to lay on top of him. “I appreciate you letting me rest last night, but I’m all yours now.”

Jack grinned at him and ducked down to kiss Ianto heatedly. He then pulled back and began to trail his lips down Ianto’s throat, “What do you want?”  
Ianto ran his hands through Jack’s hair, letting his head fall back to expose more of his neck, “Whatever you want is fine by me.”

Jack looked at him with tenderness and gratitude in his eyes, apparently attributing significance in that statement beyond the sexual, before a lopsided grin spread over his face. He kissed the inside of Ianto’s wrist. The Welshman sighed at the play of Jack's talented mouth over his pulse point, becoming so distracted by the feel of Jack’s lips that Ianto jumped in arousal and surprise when he felt Jack’s wandering fingers around his arse.

“This?” Jack asked, fingers just floating back and forth over the pucker of his hole.

Ianto nodded and reached into the bedside table, finding the lube and giving it to Jack, “Definitely that…”

Jack took the lube and spread some over his fingers as he mouthed and nipped at Ianto’s chest and belly. As his mouth moved tantalisingly slowly towards Ianto’s cock, which was very much awake by now, Jack’s slick finger brushed over his hole slowly once, twice, and then dipping just inside. He repeated this pattern again and again as he moved his mouth down towards Ianto’s balls, all of which made Ianto sigh and squirm in pleasure.

Jack wanted to worship Ianto this morning, to make him understand that he was cherished by Jack and make him come completely undone. He wanted to be teasing and tender today, as opposed to their usual frantic and frankly acrobatic pace. 

After continuing this pattern for far too long in Ianto’s opinion, Jack finally dipped his finger into Ianto’s body and took his cock into his mouth. Ianto groaned in pleasure as Jack suckled gently on the head of his cock and worked one finger inside with a steady, slow rhythm. This glacial pace was driving Ianto out of his mind in the best way, his breath becoming more laboured and sweat breaking out on his body as his muscles tensed and relaxed in ecstasy.

Finally, after much teasing, Jack added a second finger and began opening him up while he took Ianto’s cock all the way to the base and held it there for a few seconds, swallowing around him, before drawing back again. Every so often, Jack’s fingertips would brush ever so gently against that bundle of nerves inside Ianto that made him exhale a high-pitched whine. This slightly faster pace went on so long that Ianto lost track of time and all he knew was sensation. His focus was wholly on the pleasure emanating from Jack’s hands and mouth.

Suddenly, Jack added a third finger and began rubbing his prostate with every sweep of his fingers, while tonguing the slit of his cock, making Ianto buck and cry out at the onslaught after such slow going. When Ianto was almost about to come, Jack pulled off his cock and removed his fingers. Ianto whined at the sudden loss, but then Jack was hovering over his face and looking tenderly into the other man’s heavy-lidded eyes.

Ianto looked so beautiful like this, Jack thought, so completely undone that he barely seemed aware of his surroundings anymore.

It seemed to Ianto that he couldn’t even remember his own name, the only words on his lips were “Jack”, and “please”.

Jack kissed Ianto slowly and thoroughly as he slicked up his own neglected cock, sighing through his nose at the relief the touch brought. He pulled back just enough to rest his sweaty forehead against Ianto’s and gently hooked a hand under Ianto’s knee. Jack lined himself up with his other hand and thrust all the way into Ianto’s hole with one hard, deep push.

Ianto’s eyes rolled back in his head at the sudden glorious fullness and he groaned long and low. The sight made Jack moan loudly as he stayed perfectly still, completely sheathed in the tight heat of his lover’s body. For a second, the two men just panted against each other, revelling in this moment of complete togetherness.  
Before long, Ianto couldn’t take anymore, gasping desperately, “Jack… oh god, Jack…”

“It’s alright baby,” Jack whispered, adjusting his grip on Ianto’s body more tightly, “I’ve got you.”

With these words, Jack began to thrust slowly, deeply, and hard into Ianto, causing them both to groan and cry out in tandem. Eventually, he settled into a rhythm of a few short shallow thrusts, followed by hard, deep plunges to hit that sweet spot inside.

Ianto was seeing stars and incomprehensible sounds were tumbling from his kiss-swollen lips, “Oh, ngh, more Jack, God, more… please Jack… ah! Oh!”  
Jack picked up the pace finally and buried himself over and over into Ianto’s arse. He moved his hand to the Welshman’s cock and began pumping it in time with his thrusts, which made him cry out even louder. Seeing Ianto like this had pushed Jack so close but he wouldn’t let himself get there before Ianto.

“Come on babe, that’s it, come for me Ianto,” Jack grunted, his fist flying over Ianto’s rock hard prick.

Ianto’s orgasm hit him like a tidal wave, crashing through his body with such force that his thighs shook, and he dug his nails into Jack’s back as he screamed. Aftershocks shuddered through him as his cock spilled spurt after spurt of hot come all over Jack’s hand.

As Ianto’s muscles clenched around him, Jack thrust into Ianto once, twice, and then he was coming deep inside his lover’s body with a guttural moan. They held each other tightly as their bodies shook with aftershocks and exhaustion, panting desperately. Eventually, Jack eased himself out of Ianto and collapsed onto his side.

They lay there, side by side for a few moments, just catching their breath. Ianto felt completely blissed out and he wasn’t sure he could feel his limbs. When he caught his breath and his brain finally came back online, Ianto said quietly, “That was incredible.”

Jack chuckled, “Wasn’t it just!”

Ianto laughed, turning his head to look at Jack, “Thank you, I feel amazing…”

Jack hummed and kissed Ianto slowly. He reached under his cot to find some tissues to clean them up, gently wiping the mess from his own hand and Ianto’s body. Jack settled back down and took Ianto in his arms.

“No, thank you. You are amazing,” Jack kissed Ianto on the forehead, “Go back to sleep now, I’ll wake you up later.”

Ianto mumbled incoherently in agreement and drifted off to sleep, warm and content in Jack’s embrace.


	6. Chapter 6

A few hours later, Jack woke Ianto so they could shower before work, which led to heated hand jobs under the water and made them very late. By the time the two men emerged from Jack’s office and Ianto went to put on a pot of coffee, Tosh and Gwen were already taking off their coats at their desks and Owen was just arriving through the huge cog wheel door.

Ianto avoided direct eye contact with Gwen and Tosh as he passed them to avoid addressing their knowing smirks.

“Nice night, Ianto?” Gwen asked sweetly, feigning innocence.

Ianto smiled pleasantly as he delivered cups of coffee, “The night wasn’t very eventful. The morning, however…” He trailed off as he handed Jack his mug.

Jack chuckled and winked at Ianto, who smirked and turned to leave Owen’s mug on his desk.

“Is that why the place is such a pigsty?” Owen groused as he slouched over to his desk. “Tea boy was too busy to clean up this morning?”

Ianto turned to pick up the empty takeaway boxes from last night, feeling the slight tenderness of his backside as he bent over and smirked again, “You’re just jealous that your day didn’t start as nicely as mine did.”

Owen grumbled to himself and turned to his desk.

Gwen’s expression sobered and she looked between Jack and Ianto measuredly, “So, I guess you two have made up then?”

Jack raised a questioning eyebrow and shot her a lopsided smile from where he was leaning against the doorframe to his office, “What makes you think there was anything to make up for?”

“Really?” Gwen crossed her arms, unimpressed by her boss playing dumb. “You practically banished Ianto to the archives for all of yesterday, and when he came back up here you two hardly looked at each other! Usually there’s a bit of eye fucking or something, but not yesterday. So, you must have been fighting.”

At this point Owen piped up again, “Actually, I could do without the eye fucking, thanks very much.”

Tosh looked conflicted about the confrontation but didn’t say anything to stop it. Jack could tell she was curious too.

Jack thought for a moment. Perhaps he should just tell them now and give them the rest of the day to cool off if they reacted badly. He looked to Ianto, who was gazing at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly wondering whether Jack was going to say anything. Jack pushed himself away from his office doorway, taking a sip from his coffee to buy himself a few extra seconds before having this conversation.

“Well, if you must know, Ianto and I were trying to work out a solution to a problem, so I gave him a bit of space to think about it,” Jack paused for a moment, “I’m sure you all remember the Doctor?”

“Is he in trouble?” Tosh asked.

“No,” Jack shook his head, “but he did show up the other night. He wanted to ask me about the possibility of travelling with him again, every once in a while.”

There was a tense silence as everyone took in what Jack was saying. Of course, Owen was the first to pipe up, “I hate to be the one to point out the bleedin’ obvious, but last time you ran away with the Doctor you came back with a psychopath embedded in your brain.”

Jack spread his hands out wide in a supplicating gesture, “Those were extenuating circumstances! You know, the end of life on Earth as we know it?”

“So, you’re leaving us again?” Gwen said quietly, hurt in her eyes.

Jack sighed, shoving his free hand in his pocket, “No, never. Listen, the Doctor has a time machine so I could go away with him for six months and be back the next day. I told him that I wouldn’t leave you guys in the lurch like last time.”

“Why are you going?” Tosh asked suddenly.

Jack shifted his weight nervously, not wanting to reveal any more than he had to, “What do you mean?”

“Well, it seems like the Doctor could have asked you to travel with him last time he was here, but he didn’t. What changed? Why now?” Tosh asked. There was no judgement in her eyes, just curiosity and veiled concern.

Perhaps she thought this was an end of the world situation again, Jack mused. He sighed and looked to Ianto, who shrugged in a They were never going to let this go, kind of way. Jack hung his head and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. Of course his team were too damn curious for their own good, that’s what made them good at their jobs.

When Jack didn’t speak, Ianto decided to take pity on him and try to explain it, “He wants Jack to be with him… romantically. The Doctor is so long lived and Jack cant die, and they have known each other for a very long time so…”

Ianto trailed off, unsure what to say next.

“So, the Doctor wants to see if we can be something more than just friends,” Jack continued, taking in the shocked faces looking back at him, “Look, I’ve loved him for a very, very long time and he knows that, but he always turned me down. At first there was someone else, then he lost her, and his hearts were broken so thoroughly that he couldn’t think of ever opening himself up like that again. But now, I guess he’s just tired of always being left alone, and I can understand that.”

“But you’re not alone Jack!” Gwen exclaimed, “What about Ianto and… the team? You’ve got us!”

“For how long?” Jack said quietly, with such sadness that it smothered the entire room, “You think that 80 years is a long time in your little lives but I’ve already lived longer than that, and I will keep living for even longer still. Besides, even if any of you make it to 80, do you really think I’ll be able to stay with you? I’ll look like this forever and you’ll hate me for it. Either that, or this job will kill you, so how hard do you think it will be for me to watch all of this end?”

Gwen looked chastened and averted her watery gaze from Jack’s piercing eyes.

“Listen, we’re a team and we’re friends. Hell, at this point we’re family, but for me you’re all fleeting. Ianto and I have been talking about this. I want to be here for you, to do the work we’re doing because it’s important. But one day, I’ll be all that’s left, and the thought of facing that alone… it’s…” Jack trailed off, not sure he could admit to his team what that will do to him.

“It’s terrifying,” Owen said, the previous harshness gone from his voice. He looked at Jack with a frankness that was usually buried deep beneath defensive layers of sarcasm, showing that he understood the fear of ending up alone.

Jack nodded and admitted quietly, “Yeah… If the Doctor could be there for me, and I could be there for him… I think there’s a better chance of us surviving, or at least not going completely insane.”

“Sometimes the ones with the brightest smiles are the ones who are suffering the most,” Tosh added. “You and the Doctor are very much alike in that way, Jack. Maybe you two can figure out how to be more than that to each other.”

“Yeah, I hope so,” Jack acknowledged. The only one left who hadn’t said anything indicating their acceptance of him going away with the Doctor was Gwen. He knew she was going to be the hardest to convince, but he looked at her expectantly.

She turned her gaze to Ianto, “And you’re okay with this? This was what was wrong yesterday?”

Ianto seemed surprised to be addressed but tried to answer honestly, “At first I was concerned, I didn’t want Jack to get hurt like last time. And… I was jealous, I’ll admit. But now I see that the Doctor will be able to look after Jack when we can’t, and that sets my mind at ease.”

Jack smiled at Ianto, still so thankful that Ianto was open enough to let him be with another man. Well, alien, but that was beside the point. He looked back towards Gwen, who looked conflicted.

“How will it work?” she asked hesitantly. “I mean, I understand that you want to ride off into the sunset with the Doctor, but what about us? How will we know when you’re coming back?”

Jack released the breath he was holding, she was coming around, “Well, I’m going to ask the Doctor to upgrade Ianto’s phone so that you can contact me no matter where or when I am. And like I said before, his ship is a time machine, so I’ll probably only be gone for a day or so from your perspectives, so you’ll hardly even notice that I’m gone. The Doctor is coming back tomorrow, and I’ll work out some kind of schedule with him so we know when he’ll be arriving to pick me up.”

Gwen gave a resigned sigh, “You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you? You must really want this.”

Jack moved over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, “I really do. I’ve wanted this for literally over a hundred years. But I wanted to be honest with all of you and make sure we were all on the same page about this… So, are we good?”

She still didn’t look exactly pleased about it, but Gwen nodded, “Yeah, we’re good.”

Jack smiled his most brilliant smile and pulled her in for a tight hug. She hugged him back, but less fiercely. Jack pulled away and regarded Tosh and Owen, “And you two?”

Tosh smiled at Jack, “As long as we have systems in place, so we know when you’ll be gone and how to contact you, we’ll be good.”

Jack nodded in agreement, “Of course.”

Owen fell back into his trademark sarcasm, no sign of the slightly vulnerable man that appeared a few moments before, “Well, we’ve been able to manage without you before, so we can do it again. If you want to go off and bang an alien who lives in a blue box that’s more between you and your boyfriend.”

“Jack and I have talked about it, we’ll make it work,” Ianto said with more confidence than he was actually feeling.

Jack went over to Ianto and kissed him on the cheek before moving back towards his office, “Alright then, back to work everyone. The Doctor will be here tomorrow, and we can talk more about it then.”

As Jack disappeared into his office, the team shifted awkwardly for a few moments before resuming their normal duties and going about their day as normal.

At the end of the day, the lingering tension in the hub had just about smoothed over. Gwen was still shooting Jack glances throughout the day looking upset, but Jack knew she’d get over it. He had gotten over his fascination with her eventually, she would get over him too. By the time everyone left the hub, the mood seemed pretty much back to normal, or whatever passed as normal at Torchwood.

When the others had departed, Jack caught Ianto’s elbow as the Welshman was gathering his possessions.

“So, you wanna stay tonight?” Jack asked, leaving the usual suggestiveness of the request out of his voice.

Ianto smiled at Jack but pulled out of his loose grasp, “I think I’ll be going back to my flat tonight, actually. I need a little bit of time to myself after the last few days, if that’s alright.”

Jack pushed down the initial disappointment he felt at Ianto’s words. Who was he to be hurt by a very polite dismissal when he was going to be running off with another man in a few hours. Jack smiled back and nodded in understanding.

He pressed a quick, firm kiss to Ianto’s lips before stepping away a little, “Of course, I understand. Goodnight, Ianto.”

Ianto brushed the back of his fingers gently over Jack’s cheek, “Goodnight, Jack. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He watched as the giant cog door rumbled closed behind Ianto, before going to pace around his office for the rest of the night. He knew he wouldn’t get any sleep without Ianto to distract him, so he poured a glass of whisky and waited for the Doctor, just like always.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day passed so slowly that Jack was almost ready to tear his hair out by late afternoon. He had told the Doctor three days, so he could arrive at the hub any minute or as late as tomorrow morning, Jack just didn’t know. A traitorous part of his brain kept whispering to him that the Doctor wasn’t going to come back for him at all because he never had in the past, but Jack tried with all his might to quell the negative voice inside his head.

Ianto kept giving him reassuring smiles all day in a valiant attempt to calm Jack’s nerves, and while he always smiled back, Jack was almost ready to send everyone home early and call it a day. Ianto placed a fresh cup of coffee on his desk where Jack had been rereading the same paragraph for the third time, as he was too distracted to absorb any of it. Ianto carded a hand through Jack’s hair gently, before leaving the room.

Jack took a deep drink of the rich beverage and was about to resume trying to read the report in front of him when something caught his eye on his desk monitor. A police box was fading in and out of sight and he heard the tell-tale whine of the engines echoing through the hub from above. Relief bloomed in Jack’s chest, closely followed by an overwhelming surge of happiness at the sight of that ridiculous blue box.

He leapt to his feet and hurried out into the hub, where four sets of eyes all fell upon him. Jack paused for a moment, “I’m just going to go up and talk to him. I won’t go anywhere without coming back to tell you what’s going on.”

This statement was greeted with varying degrees of disbelieving expressions on the faces of his team. All except Ianto, who said, “Go. We’ll be here.”

Jack smiled at him with gratitude before leaping up onto the platform that raised him up to street level. He stepped off the block when it came to a stop behind the TARDIS and walked around to the doors. The Doctor hadn’t emerged, but Jack didn’t want to enter the ship until he had sorted everything out with his team, and he knew they’d be watching on the CCTV feed. Instead, Jack knocked on the wooden doors and stepped back.

After a few seconds, the Doctor’s head appeared in the doorway. He looked flustered and there was a slight blush on his pale freckled face, “Hello! Ah, hi… sorry, I didn’t know whether I should go down to your office or just wait here so… I just parked and um… here I am!”

Jack smiled as the Doctor fully emerged from his ship and closed the doors behind him. Jack reached forwards and pulled aside his collar to find a fresh red love bite on the Doctor’s skin, right where he had left it, “I’m glad you came straight here. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all day.”

The Doctor straightened his collar awkwardly, “Right, well… good. Is it good?”

Jack cupped the Doctor’s cheek and pulled him in for a gentle kiss, no tongues just a delicate press of lips. When Jack moved back, the Doctor had that same dazed expression on his face that he’d had after Jack had pressed him against the TARDIS a few nights ago. It had only been a few moments for the Doctor, but he looked just as surprised.

“It’s very good,” Jack said quietly. His heart felt as though it might burst as hope shone in the Doctor’s eyes.

“Does that mean you’ll come with me?” the Doctor asked.

“Yes! I want to be with you. I want everything… all of it and more!” Jack replied breathlessly, feeling a wide smile spreading across his lips.

The Doctor huffed out a disbelieving chuckle before a matching grin lit up his face and he hugged Jack to him tightly. Jack laughed gaily at the Doctor’s desperate and bone crushing embrace. After a few moments, he pulled back gently and took the Doctor by the shoulders, looking into those rich brown eyes.

“So, here’s how it’s gonna go; I’ll travel with you for however long you’ll have me but then I want you to drop me back here at Torchwood the day after we left. Then we can set a date that you’ll come pick me up the next time and we’ll do it all over again, sound fair?”

The Doctor looked worried for a moment when Jack said that he wanted him to drop Jack back at Torchwood after they travelled together, perhaps thinking that he only wanted to do this as a one time thing. But when Jack said that they would do it again, the Doctor’s face broke into a tentative smile once more.

“So, you’re saying that I’ll come and pick you up at a pre-arranged time and we can travel together for a while, and then I’ll drop you back here until the next time?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Jack confirmed, taking the Doctor’s hand and squeezing it reassuringly. “I told the team that I would be going away with you and they’ve agreed, so long as I always come back a day or so after I left.”

The Doctor’s expression clouded again slightly as he shifted his weight awkwardly and averted his gaze down to their joined hands, “So you talked to them, then? About this? You… you spoke to Ianto too?”

“Yeah, we talked about it and he’s agreed to share me with you,” Jack said with a wry smile. “He said that as long as I always come back to him and remind him how much he means to me, then we could give this a try.”

The Doctor smiled wistfully, “He’s quite remarkable, that Ianto Jones.”

“Don’t I know it,” Jack agreed. “I also said that you would do your jiggery pokery to his phone so that we could keep in contact in case there’s an emergency, or if he just wants to talk. Would that be alright?”

The Doctor nodded vigorously, “Yes, yes, of course. If it’ll make him feel better, I’m happy to do it.”

The two men looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, just basking in the joy and hope they both felt. They smiled at each other for a minute, until Jack realised he should probably get Ianto up here so the Doctor could adjust his phone. He doubted the Doctor would want to enter the hub and deal with all the drama from his team.

Jack broke eye contact with the Doctor and looked around until he spotted the CCTV camera that the team was probably watching from. He mouthed Ianto’s name and gestured for him to join them in the Plass.

Down in the hub, Ianto watched the exchange on the monitors. He saw Jack deliberately not enter the ship and the Doctor emerge hesitantly. He observed as Jack placed a sweet kiss to the Doctor’s lips and the resulting shocked expression from the alien. Ianto felt a pang of hurt at seeing Jack kiss someone else so tenderly, but when he witnessed the pure joy that came over the Doctor’s face as Jack delivered the good news, and the almost desperate hug that followed, Ianto knew that he had made the right decision.

It may pain him to know that Jack was seeing the Doctor, but the fact that the alien seemed to be expecting a rejection, and had steeled himself for yet more heartbreak, made Ianto glad that the alien had found someone to love him unconditionally. If there was one thing Ianto could attest to, it was that Jack loved with his heart, body, and soul, and it looked like the Doctor could use a little of that.

Eventually, Jack turned and looked up at the camera they were watching from and mouthed Ianto’s name, gesturing for him to come up to the Plass. Ianto felt a pang of nerves suddenly, before realising how silly that was. He had already met the Doctor once and had found him quite charming. Hopefully, the Doctor wouldn’t feel any resentment towards him for being the one waiting for Jack when he came home from his travels.

“Oh yeah, this won’t be awkward at all,” Owen muttered, earning himself an elbow to the ribs from Tosh.

Ianto made his way up to the Plass, ignoring the gossiping of his co-workers. He pushed down any trepidation he felt and was determined to be courteous to the Doctor. Contrary to what Owen thought, Ianto felt that this situation didn’t have to be awkward unless they let it be. When Ianto moved around to the front doors of the police box, he found Jack leaning against the side of the ship and the Doctor standing next to him with his hands in his pockets, bouncing restlessly on the ball of his feet.

“Ah! Ianto Jones! A pleasure to see you again,” the Doctor said cheerfully, holding out his hand in greeting.

Ianto could see, however, the question in his eyes and the slight nervousness of the gesture. Ianto grasped the Doctor’s hand firmly and smiled at him with as much genuine warmth as he could muster, “Likewise, Doctor. You look well.”

The Doctor released his hand and there was gratitude in his eyes before it was replaced by a mask of joviality, “Yes, yes I am well, thank you! Jack asked me if I could have a look at your phone and see what I can do to give you universal roaming. Literally!”

Ianto fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to the Doctor, who pulled out a thin metallic instrument and began buzzing it at his phone. Ianto didn’t know what he was doing exactly, but said, “Thank you for doing this, Doctor. I know I’ll sleep better while Jack’s away if I have a way to contact him.”

The Doctor finished whatever he was doing with a flourish and stuffed the scientific instrument back into his coat before handing the phone back to Ianto, “There you are! All set, just dial Jack’s number and you’ll be able to reach him, or you can call my phone if it’s really an emergency.” The Doctor stuffed his hands back into his pockets awkwardly, “Anyway, it’s my pleasure. Anything to make this whole situation a little easier for all of us.”

“Well, I appreciate it,” Ianto said, putting his phone away. “Just… look after each other while you’re away, alright?”

“We will,” Jack replied, smiling at Ianto.

“Absolutely,” the Doctor agreed. He seemed uncertain for a moment but suddenly Ianto found himself wrapped up against the Doctor’s lanky frame in a tight embrace. The alien spoke quietly in his ear, “Thank you for letting me have this, Ianto.”

Ianto put his arms around the skinny man hesitantly and replied just as quietly, “You’re welcome. Just don’t hurt him or I’ll kick your bony arse.”

The Doctor chuckled and pulled away, “Yes, sir!”

Ianto cleared his throat and straightened his waistcoat, “So, are you going to leave now, then?”

Jack pushed himself upright away from the TARDIS, “Yeah, if that’s alright?”

Ianto sighed impatiently through his nose, “You don’t have to ask permission, Jack. We’ve talked about it and reached an agreement, you can go whenever you like as long as you’re not away for long, from my perspective at least.”

Jack took Ianto’s hand and raised the other one in defeat, “Okay, okay! Come one, I’ll go get some things together and say au revoir to the team. Don’t move, Doctor!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” he said with a grin.

Jack began to tug Ianto towards the lift but Ianto hesitated, eyeing the blue box curiously, “It doesn’t look like there’s much room for two in there…”

The Doctor smiled mischievously and pushed the creaky wooden door open, “Want to have a peek?”

Ianto glanced at Jack, who also was wearing a cheeky grin and gestured for him to go take a look. Cautiously, Ianto moved towards the door and peered inside. He gasped at the wonderful space behind the inconspicuous blue exterior, eyes wide, before turning back to the Doctor, “You really are quite unbelievable, Doctor!”

“You’re quite impressive yourself, Ianto Jones,” the Doctor said seriously.

Ianto had been expecting a cheeky remark or a playful grin, but when he looked into the alien’s ancient eyes, Ianto saw a raw honesty and gratitude that touched him deeply.

“Thank you,” Ianto whispered, his voice unexpectedly choked with emotion. He stepped away from the box that was bigger on the inside and turned back towards Jack, who was waiting for him with a wistful smile on his lips.


	8. Chapter 8

Jack informed the Doctor that he was going back down to the hub to pack up some things for the trip, to which the Doctor replied that he’d wait by the TARDIS. The Time Lord made a face of such discomfort at the idea of having to deal with the Torchwood team that Jack laughed out loud. The Doctor looked disgruntled at Jack’s reaction as the immortal and Ianto left him by his ship, descending once more into the cavernous hub to find the others looking up at them expectantly.

“That seemed to go well,” Tosh said.

When the lift came to a halt, Jack stepped down and offered Ianto his hand to help him down. He turned to Owen, Tosh and Gwen, “Yeah! It was good. I’m going to go pack a bag and head off, I’ll probably see you in a few days.”

“So, you’re just going to go? Right now?” Gwen questioned, displeasure radiating from her defensive posture. “What if something comes up here with the Rift?”

As Jack passed her on the way to his office, he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, “Yes I’m going right now, and if something comes up I trust you all to handle it, just like last time. If something truly cataclysmic happens, Ianto can contact me so I can come back. But I don’t want to be disturbed for anything less than cataclysmic, got it?”

He directed this last sentence to the whole team who agreed with various levels of grumbling, mostly from Owen. Jack looked back at Gwen, who was still regarding him with a betrayed look on her face. He said quietly, “Don’t worry, I’ll be back so soon you’ll hardly even notice I’m gone.”

Jack continued to his office and down into his quarters. He grabbed a duffel bag from under his cot and packed up a few essentials. The TARDIS probably only had his old clothes from his last stay and Jack was definitely over his baggy jeans phase. Ianto descended the ladder by the time Jack had almost finished packing and perched himself on one of the lower rungs.

When Jack was done, he zipped up his bag and turned to Ianto. He approached the Welshman slowly, deliberately, and pulled him into a long deep kiss, carding his fingers through the hair at the nape of Ianto’s neck. Ianto wrapped his arms around Jack and pulled him close. They sat there kissing slowly for a few minutes until Jack pulled away, breathless.

“I’ll see you soon,” Jack promised, moving away and slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Ianto nodded and stood away from the ladder, “Bring me a souvenir.”

Jack smiled and pulled Ianto in for another quick kiss, “I’ll see what I can do.”

He climbed up the ladder and set his office to rights as much as possible, before moving back out into the main hub. Jack clapped Owen on the shoulder and told him to stay out of trouble, hugged Tosh and told her to make sure Owen stayed out of trouble, and kissed Gwen on the cheek, telling her to look after the team. She nodded and smiled tightly at him, saying she would make sure everything was taken care of. Jack could see that she still wasn’t particularly thrilled with this arrangement, but perhaps once they had done it a few times she would see that, hopefully, it wouldn’t be too disruptive.

Ianto heard the elevator going up to the Plass once more as he emerged from Jack’s quarters. Jack gave a little two fingered salute and a wink as Ianto stopped in the doorway of Jack’s office. Ianto smiled and gave a little wave in return, watching as Jack disappeared through to the pavement above. He moved over to the monitor and watched as Jack appeared at the doors to the TARDIS, fitting his key into the lock. Jack paused and turned, waving at the security camera with a delighted grin on his face, before disappearing inside the blue box.

A few moments later, the police box began to fade out of view, accompanied by that strange wheezing sound from the engines. And then it was gone. Ianto allowed himself one small sigh of sadness at the now empty Plass. He then pulled his shoulders back, straightened his waistcoat and got back to work. There were a few loaded glances between the other members of the team, but they soon followed his lead and got back to business.

The next day continued along in the same vein as the first half of the week. The dry spell of rift activity saw the team continuing to experiment with the space junk that fell through the other day. Aside from a small explosion that partially singed one of Owen’s eyebrows during a close examination of a mysterious power core, the day progressed smoothly.

As it was a Friday, Owen decided that if there was no boss around to tell them otherwise, they could all finish early. Having made this declaration, he was out the door, saying something about cleaning up to go and get laid. How exactly he was going to do that with a partly singed eyebrow, Ianto wasn’t sure.

About 15 minutes later, Gwen said she was also going to take off early to spend some quality time with Rhys. “It’s been far too long since I was able to make it to date night on time,” she said with a wave over her shoulder as she headed out of the hub.

It wasn’t long before Tosh was also sneaking frequent glances at her watch. Ianto stopped by her desk as he was clearing away empty coffee mugs.

“You know, you don’t have to stay and keep me company or anything,” he said dryly.

Tosh straightened a little in her chair and began shuffling papers about as if to convince him that she had been working the whole time, “I don’t know what you mean. I’ve still got, um, all these… things to sort out.”

Ianto raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Tosh held out for a few moments under his scrutiny, before sighing in defeat.

“I just thought that you might want to talk, or something,” Tosh said hesitantly.

“I’m alright Toshiko, really,” Ianto replied, “It’s going to take a bit of getting used to, but you saw how happy Jack was. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so genuinely happy, there’s always something that seems to weigh on him when he’s here. Who am I to deny him that, after everything he’s been through? I truly am pleased for them.”

“Alright, as long as you’re sure you’re okay?” Tosh asked, getting to her feet and gathering her belongings.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Ianto steered her towards the door. “It’s Friday night, go have some fun.”

Tosh smiled at him and nodded slightly sadly. Perhaps she was thinking about Owen, Ianto supposed. Owen may not have noticed her pining but Ianto certainly had. He gave her another slight nudge towards the door, making her laugh and throw her hands in the air in defeat.

“Okay, I’m going! Goodnight, Ianto.”

“Goodnight,” Ianto replied, watching as the cog door slid closed behind her retreating form.

Now alone in the hub, Ianto wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. It was silly, but he didn’t really want to stray too far in case Jack arrived home. The idea of Jack coming back to his tiny room, all by himself, after having wonderful adventures with the Doctor made Ianto’s heart ache. Somewhere, deep down, a treacherous voice was working to convince him that if Jack didn’t receive a warm welcome when he returned, he might not want to come back the next time the Doctor arrived to whisk him away.

Logically, he knew this kind of reasoning was pointless and daft, but the desire to stay close to the hub prevailed over Ianto’s better judgement. He dug some leftover pizza out of the fridge and took it to Jack’s office. He then hunted around until he found one of Jack’s good bottles of scotch and poured himself a small glass, sitting down opposite the desk to eat. As expected, the scotch was excellent and the pizza slightly stale.

Once he had cleaned up the remains of his sad little dinner, Ianto gave in to the urge that had be gnawing at him all evening. He moved over the little opening that led down to Jack’s quarters and only hesitated for a moment, before slowly descending the stairs. Now that he was standing in Jack’s room like some lovestruck character in a romance novel, pining for the return of their paramour, Ianto felt a bit ridiculous. Having said that, as he looked around the room and inhaled the lingering seductive scent that was quintessentially Jack, Ianto felt the tension in his shoulders ease a little.

He ended up grabbing a random book from Jack’s tiny shelf and settling on the bed to read and unwind. It may have been a quiet week in terms of rift activity, but it had been quite the emotional rollercoaster. On top of that, Ianto hadn’t slept very well the previous night as there had been too many thoughts swirling around in his head. But here in Jack’s bed reading some mindless novel, Ianto felt himself relaxing, until his eyes slowly began to droop closed and, after an hour or so of reading, he was asleep with the book forgotten in his lap.


	9. Chapter 9

Outside the hub, in front of the tourist information office, the TARDIS began to materialise. Inside the ship, the Doctor was flipping switches and fussing around the console, doing an excellent job of avoiding Jack’s eyes.

Jack dropped his duffle bag of belongings onto the floor and moved to stand close to the Doctor, “Hey, this isn’t goodbye, you know. I’ll see you again in a few months.”

The Doctor stopped fiddling with the TARDIS controls and looked up at Jack with a melancholy sigh, “I know. It’s just… I’ve always hated goodbyes. I suppose it just feels strange to be leaving you here like nothing happened… but I’m glad I have the next time to look forward to!”

“Me too,” Jack said with a smile. “This was wonderful, more than I ever hoped it could be!”

The Doctor shifted his weight uncertainly and said with attempted nonchalance, “So, does that mean it worked? Us I mean. You know… that we worked well together? Because I think it went rather well…”

Jack silenced the Doctor by ducking in and placing a quick, firm kiss on the Time Lord’s lips. He pulled back with a smirk, enjoying the dazed expression that the Doctor still sometimes got when Jack surprised him.

“I think it went brilliantly,” Jack crooned. The Doctor smiled at Jack but didn’t say anything in reply, prompting Jack to add teasingly, “You know, I think I like this new technique of silencing you that I’ve discovered…”

The Doctor levelled Jack with a playful glare and a smack on the arm, “That’s quite enough of that, thank you very much.”

Jack chuckled but moved away from the Doctor to retrieve his bag, “You know you love it!”

“That I do,” the Doctor said quietly, shooting Jack a fond smile.

Once again, Jack found his breath being taken away by the Time Lord. The honesty in those words and his expression was enough to bring home to Jack one more time that this was real, and he couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He walked up to the Doctor and enveloped him in a tight embrace.

“Thank you,” Jack said in the Doctor’s ear, “Thank you for everything.”

“Likewise,” the Doctor replied.

They stood there in each other’s embrace for another few moments, before Jack pulled away and squeezed the Doctor’s hand, “I’ll see you soon, Doc.”

The Doctor squeezed Jack’s hand in return, a joyful grin on his face, “Looking forward to it.”

Jack let go of the Doctor’s hand and pushed through the doors of the TARDIS and onto the dark boardwalk, stepping away to watch the blue box fade out of sight. He felt a pang of sadness to watch the Doctor go, but as Jack breathed deeply and inhaled the familiar salty air of Cardiff Bay, a smile played across his lips. Cardiff may be one small corner of a very large universe, but it was special to Jack and he was happy to be home.

He turned and walked through the tourist information office and into the tunnel that led down to the hub. After a quick glance at his vortex manipulator to tell him the lateness of the hour, Jack was unsurprised to find the cavernous hub empty. He looked up and cooed at Myfanwy, whose heavy wing beats could be heard echoing from high above.

As Jack hadn’t slept in about a week (he and the Doctor didn’t require much rest, a fact which the Doctor was keen to take full advantage of while he had a companion that didn’t need a regular sleep schedule) so he entered his office, fully intending to crash into bed. When Jack passed his desk after hanging up his coat, however, he noticed that one of his good bottles of scotch was sitting on the counter and not where he had left it in the third drawer of his corner filing cabinet.

Jack’s brow furrowed in confusion and he looked around his office to investigate whether he was truly alone as he had initially assumed, when a soft light emanating from his quarters caught Jack’s eye. Dropping his duffle bag and reaching for his gun, Jack peered down through the opening, only to smile and holster his gun at the sight below.

Ianto was curled up on Jack’s cot with a book laying open on the bed and the lamp still on. His usually immaculate suit was wrinkled, and his hair was sticking up on one side where he had slid down the bed during his reading. Jack descended the ladder to his room quietly and dumped his duffle bag in the corner of the room, before quietly moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

He picked up the abandoned book and placed it on the bedside table, watching with what was surely a pathetic smile on his face as Ianto snuffled and sighed in his sleep. Jack leaned over and brushed a hand through Ianto’s wild bed hair to wake him.

Ianto took a deep breath and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around with confusion for a second before his eyes fell on Jack. Ianto pushed himself up slightly into a sitting position leaning against the wall, face flushing red at being discovered curled up in Jack’s bed.

“Jack!” Ianto cried, voice still thick with sleep, “Hi. You’re back…”

“I sure am,” Jack replied with a lopsided smile, “And what a lovely surprise to find you here!”

Ianto reached up and tried to smooth his wild hair, saying clumsily, “Uh, sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep here. I just thought that if you came home tonight… well I didn’t want you to return to an empty room, I suppose…”

Jack leaned forwards and placed a delicate kiss to Ianto’s forehead, “I don’t mind. It’s good to see you, Ianto.”

Ianto smiled hesitantly and asked the question that was burning at the back of his mind, even though he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer, “How long were you gone?”

Jack took a deep breath through his nose reluctantly, but answered honestly, “About six weeks.”

Ianto was relieved to hear that Jack hadn’t been away for a year like last time, even if that time had been reversed. But he now had to ask another question that he didn’t really want the answer to, “How was it? Did you and the Doctor, uh, have a good time?”

Jack couldn’t help the smile that spread unbidden across his face at his memories of his time aboard the TARDIS, “It was wonderful. We ate good food, started a revolution, overthrew a corrupt government, accidentally got deified which was interesting… saved some planets, saw Mozart perform… basically a whole lot of running, and a little bit of dancing!”

“Sounds like it went well then,” Ianto said, voice carefully blank. He couldn’t help the flare of jealousy in the pit of his stomach at the way Jack had spoken, and he was sure that ‘dancing’ was some kind of euphemism from the way he had said it. Despite those feelings, Ianto registered the way Jack’s face lit up with joy at the thought of his exploits with the Doctor and he couldn’t begrudge his lover for that happiness, even if it was caused by someone else.

Jack smiled softly, his eyes knowing as if he could tell what Ianto was thinking, “It did go well… but I’m glad I get to come home to you.”

Ianto felt his face flushing slightly at the praise, which made Jack smirk at him. Ianto decided the best way to wipe the smug smile of Jack’s face was to lean forward and press a deep kiss to his lips. When he pulled away, biting his lip in the way he knew drove Jack mad, Ianto said quietly, “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too,” Jack said. “Oh, I almost forgot… I got you something. A souvenir, like you asked!”

Jack reached into his duffle bag and fished out a small velvet pouch. He handed it over to Ianto and gestured for him to open the bag. When Ianto tipped out the contents, a small rectangular metallic tag on a chain fell into his palm. As Ianto turned the chunky pendant over in his hands, he noticed a symbol on the front which glowed a phosphorescent green, seemingly emanating from within the metal pendant. While he examined the strange alien necklace, the cool metal began to heat up until it was radiating warmth and the green glow became stronger.

Jack smiled as he watched the pendant glow, “I picked it up at the Fluren Temporal Bazaar. I believe it’s called a Shaloo pendant, which I think translates loosely to ‘beloved’ or ‘much-loved’. It contains a tiny telepathic imprint which causes it to warm up and glow when a loved one is thinking about you. So, you’ll always know when you’re on my mind.”

Ianto’s heart felt as though it was about to burst, it was such a beautiful sentiment encapsulated in the small heated pendant in his hands. He fastened the chain around his neck and clutched the glowing necklace to his heart, saying thickly, “Thank you, Jack. It’s beautiful… I love it. And I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jack replied.

Ianto felt the pendant give a flare of heat at Jack’s words, which made Ianto chuckle in disbelief. Jack chuckled too, noticing the glow of the necklace from between Ianto’s fingers. Jack got to his feet and began to undress.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m beat. I haven’t slept in ages. Too much running, I guess! But… will you stay with me?” Jack asked once he was down to his undershirt and pants.  
Ianto also got up off the bed and began to take off his rumpled suit, “Of course. Honestly, that’s why I came down here tonight… I didn’t want you to be alone when you returned.”

As they got settled into bed, side by side, Jack brushed his fingers over the pendant hanging around Ianto’s neck and felt the warmth radiating off it. He smiled and whispered seductively, “Maybe tomorrow morning I can repay you for your thoughtfulness…”

Ianto chuckled and closed his eyes, the heat of Jack’s fingers and the pendant around his neck sending warmth straight to his core, “Goodnight, Jack.”

“Night, Ianto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting towards the end of this story now. In case you were wondering, Jack's adventures with the Doctor will be explored in the next installment of this series. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! Final chapter is here. It took me ages to finish, turns out writing fanfic while also starting your thesis is not the best idea... oops. Oh well! Thanks for sticking with this story! I have a whole bunch of other installments planned for this series so stay tuned for those (the next one will be what the Doctor and Jack got up to on their first trip away). Enjoy!

The next morning, Jack woke up feeling stiflingly warm. He opened his eyes to find Ianto curled around him like an octopus and radiating heat under the covers. After a number of nights spent in the arms of a Time Lord, whose body temperature is closer to 15 degrees centigrade, it was strange to wake up to the heat of a human body pressed close his own.

Jack considered moving to check the time but abruptly realised that it was the weekend, so he really had no reason to move at all. He looked down at Ianto as he continued to sleep pressed up against Jack’s side. He had always thought that Ianto looked younger when he slept, his face not lined with worry and his stiff posture completely relaxed. He was always handsome in his crisp suits, but Jack thought Ianto was particularly beautiful when he was pliant and vulnerable with sleep.

The sight of the Shaloo pendant rising and falling against Ianto’s chest made Jack’s heart swell. Ianto had occasionally expressed a veiled desire to try and understand Jack’s feelings more, suggesting that he was an enigma who kept himself closed off from those around him. In fact, most of the team had implied as much at one time or another. But now, Ianto would be assured of the thoughts in Jack’s head and be aware every of time he was on Jack’s mind.

As he was thinking this, the pendant began to glow brighter and Jack felt the need to reach out and brush his fingers against the warm metal as it heated up against Ianto’s skin. Ianto began to stir and a smile crept over his sleepy face, even though he kept his eyes closed.

“Now, what could you possibly be thinking about me that was strong enough to wake me up,” Ianto teased, voice thick with sleep.

“I was thinking how beautiful you are,” Jack replied, the honesty in his voice outweighing his usual flirtatious tone.

Ianto peeled his eyes open slowly and looked up at Jack, surprised by the sincerity of the statement. He smiled and buried his face into Jack’s chest as his cheeks began to flush, “Well… if I have to be woken up by your thoughts, that’s a nice one.”

Jack hummed in agreement, a smirk on his face from the adorable way that Ianto had blushed at the praise. Ianto stretched and reached up to rub his eyes, before brushing his lips across Jack’s skin.

“Did I mention that I’m glad you’re back? Even though it’s only been a few days.”

“You did mention that,” Jack said, rolling over onto his back to give Ianto better access to his chest where he was currently placing feather-light kisses. “Did I mention that I missed you too?”

Ianto propped his chin up on Jack’s chest to look at the immortal, “I think you did, yes.”

Jack trailed his fingertips up and down the arm that Ianto had thrown across his body and said thoughtfully, “I think I also mentioned that I’m glad to be home with you.”

Ianto averted his gaze from Jack’s, a small glimmer of worry in his eyes, “Did you really?”

“I really did,” Jack confirmed persistently, moving his fingers to the necklace around Ianto’s neck.

Ianto turned back to look at Jack as the pendant heated up even more. They smiled at each other and Ianto said softly, “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Jack replied. He took a breath to say something that he would probably end up regretting, but he felt the need to say it anyway. “Do you wanna talk about the Doctor? Because I won’t hide anything from you, if you have questions…”

Ianto shook his head, gently silencing Jack, “No. That’s between you and him, just like what we have is between you and me. There may be room enough for both of us in your heart, but I want to keep the part of you that I have all to myself. And I’m sure the Doctor feels the same.”

It was Jack’s turn to shake his head, but it was with gratitude and affection for the wonderful human in his arms, “In that case, I’m all yours.”

“Lucky me,” Ianto teased with a seductive smile. His tongue flicked out to catch one of Jack’s nipples, before he sealed his lips around it and sucked gently.

Jack hummed appreciatively squeezed Ianto’s biceps in encouragement. He allowed Ianto to kiss and nip at his chest for a few moments, threading a hand into his hair, before he gave a gentle tug to encourage him to lift his head so Jack could fit their lips together. He devoured Ianto’s mouth hungrily, refamiliarizing himself with the taste of the Welshman against his tongue.

Ianto slung his leg over to straddle Jack and brought their barely clothed groins together. They both groaned at the gentle friction beginning to build, cocks hardening with every tilt of their hips together. Jack reached beneath the sheets to grasp Ianto’s thigh and run his fingers teasingly beneath the waistband of his boxers. At Ianto’s hitched breath, Jack slid his hand under the materials to squeeze Ianto’s arse and pulling them together to rut against each other like teenagers.

Ianto pulled back from their heated kiss to shimmy out of his pants, while Jack utilised the opportunity to reach over to the bedside table and grab the lube. He was about to pop the cap open but his motions were stilled by the sight that greeted Jack when he looked back to Ianto, who was straddling Jack’s thighs, gently stroking and squeezing his erect prick lazily. His eyes had fluttered closed and his head was tilted back, a contented smile on his lips.

“Oh wow,” Jack breathed. “Look at you.”

Ianto peeled his eyes open slowly and looked down at Jack through hooded eyes, “Give me that.”

He took the lube from Jack’s fingers and placed it down on the bed. Ianto gave his cock a final lingering pull, before shuffling backwards down the bed. As he moved down Jack’s body, he trailed his fingers over Jack’s unblemished, ageless skin until he got to the waistband of Jack’s pants. Ever so slowly, Ianto eased them down over Jack’s hips until his cock sprang free from the confines of the material.

Jack sighed and chuckled deep in his chest as Ianto blew hot air over his prick and discarded Jack’s pants.

“Maybe I should go away more often if this is the welcome I get,” Jack teased, breath hitching as Ianto licked a wet stripe from the base of Jack’s balls all the way to the tip of his cock.

Ianto pulled away with a mock glare on his face, “Don’t even joke about that or I might not be inclined to keep going…”

“Sorry,” Jack chuckled, a wry grin on his face. “By all means, carry on.”

Ianto nipped Jack on the thigh in mocking reprimand, before moving back to Jack’s cock. He grasped the base with his right hand and began swirling his tongue around the head, tasting the pre come at the tip. He tongued at the slit until Jack groaned and then began to work his way down Jack’s length until his cock hit the back of his throat. Ianto wasn’t as skilled as Jack when it came to deep throating but what his gag reflex prevented, he made up for with a talented tongue and vigorous enthusiasm. As he worked his mouth over Jack’s cock, he slid left hand up to pinch and tease at Jack’s nipples until he was squirming with pleasure, head thrown back and mouth hanging open as he gasped for air under Ianto’s onslaught.

Ianto began to bob his head faster and faster despite the growing ache in his jaw, moving his hands back down to Jack’s hips to stop him from wriggling and bucking under Ianto’s attentions.

Jack cupped the back of Ianto’s head as a warning, “Ianto, oh god, Ianto… I’m gonna come… Oh shit!”

Ianto pulled back until the tip of Jack’s cock was resting on his tongue and gave one final suck, squeezing Jack’s shaft with his hand. Jack moaned and Ianto’s mouth was suddenly filled with hot come. He swallowed as much as he could, but a small trickle escaped the corner of his mouth as another spurt of liquid burst across his tongue.

Only when Jack’s thighs were shaking with oversensitivity did Ianto pull away, immediately reaching down to cup his own aching erection. Jack wrapped a hand around the back of Ianto’s neck and pulled him up until their faces were inches apart. He licked the stray stripe of come off Ianto’s chin slowly, before plunging his tongue into Ianto’s mouth to taste himself on the Welshman’s lips.

Ianto groaned as they shared the taste of Jack between them and began to reach for the lube to take care of himself. Jack grasped his wrist firmly as he moved to grab the bottle, pulling away enough to gaze into Ianto’s dilated eyes.

“Come here,” Jack crooned as he shuffled himself down slightly on the bed so that his head was no longer on the pillow. “Fuck my mouth, Ianto.”

Ianto moaned at those words and ran his finders over Jack’s kiss swollen lips, “Are you sure?”

Jack just nodded and pulled at Ianto’s thighs to encourage him to move up the bed. Ianto only hesitated for a moment more before shuffling up to straddle Jack’s chest and taking hold of the headboard to steady himself. Jack smiled cheekily beneath him and opened his mouth wide.

“Jesus, Jack,” Ianto moaned as he took in the sight of Jack spread out beneath him. He lined himself up and pushed the tip of his cock past the tight wetness of Jack’s lips to find himself immediately assaulted by Jack’s dextrous tongue. He groaned again as he began to thrust shallowly into Jack’s hot, wet mouth.

He kept up this shallow pace for a few minutes until Jack grasped Ianto’s arse and pulled him closer, encouraging Ianto to go deeper. Ianto began to thrust into Jack’s mouth in earnest, going so deep that he could feel the tip of his cock against the back of Jack’s throat and hear the slap of his balls against Jack’s chin.

“Oh, fucking Christ… Oh God,” Ianto panted, his thighs beginning to tremble from the effort of slamming into Jack’s mouth over and over. Jack’s eyes were locked on Ianto’s, pushing him closer to the edge until Ianto buried himself deep and threw his head back, crying out as he came down Jack’s throat.

He rocked into Jack’s mouth a few final times as the man beneath him sucked another spurt of come from Ianto’s cock, swallowing around him through the aftershocks of his orgasm. When Ianto came back to himself, he caved in to the irresistible urge to cup Jack’s throat to feel the way it contracted around him as he eased out of the immortal’s mouth, but as Ianto pulled away Jack began to cough.

“Jack, are you alright?” Ianto asked with concern, shuffling back down the bed to take in the sight of Jack’s swollen lips. Despite his worry over hurting Jack, Ianto had to admit that the trickle of saliva dribbling over Jack’s chin was really fucking hot.

Jack coughed again, but it turned into sultry laughter as he licked his lips and brought up a hand to cup Ianto’s cheek. His voice was a little hoarse as he said with a grin, “Oh I’m so far beyond alright! That was great…”

Ianto smiled and lifted a hand to wipe the saliva off Jack’s face, “You’re unbelievable.”

Jack chuckled again as he turned onto his side, “It’s been said before!”

Ianto laughed along with Jack and pressed a light kiss to his bruised lips. As Ianto savoured the sight of Jack’s face, relaxed and content after their exploits, a thought occurred to him that he suddenly felt the need to voice, “You know, me and the Doctor are lucky to have you. You always devote a hundred and ten percent of yourself to everything, and I feel very privileged to receive some of that.”

Jack gazed at Ianto with happiness and gratitude shining in his bright blue eyes. He pulled Ianto into his arms and pressed a delicate kiss to Ianto’s forehead, “Well, I’m so unbelievably lucky to have both of you. I can’t believe I get to have such amazing people in my life.”

Ianto smiled at Jack before closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around the immortal. He drifted back to sleep to the soothing sounds of Jack’s steady breathing and the heat of his pendant warming his heart.

After a thoroughly enjoyable weekend where Ianto had hardly left Jack’s bed and very few clothes had been worn, Monday rolled around and it was time to get back to work. After returning to his apartment to make himself presentable, Ianto soon returned to the hub to find Gwen, Owen and Tosh huddled around a delicious looking selection of doughnuts in the conference room. He stopped to make everyone coffee and then mounted the stairs with the cups balanced expertly on a tray.

“Morning Ianto!” Tosh chirped cheerily, moving to grab a cup of coffee. “Gwen brought doughnuts!”

“So I see,” Ianto replied, handing around the rest of the coffees.

“Help yourself, Ianto,” Gwen said. She peered over the rim of her mug after taking a sip, “So, is Jack back yet?”  
Ianto reached past Owen to grab a doughnut and replied as casually as possible, “Yes, he actually arrived back on Friday night.”

“Is that why you look so tired?” Owen remarked dryly, leaning back to balance on two legs of his chair. “You know, Jack really should let you get more beauty rest, those bags under your eyes aren’t exactly flattering.”

“I don’t see any bags,” Jack cut in, having materialised in the doorway to the conference room. He looked Ianto over appreciatively, “He looks alright to me.”

Ianto smirked as Owen’s chair thumped back onto all fours in his surprise. Jack moved forwards to grab his coffee and started gulping it down.

“Jack!” Gwen exclaimed with surprise. “Um, how was your trip.”

Jack took a breath from his hot beverage and glanced around casually, “Oh you know, saved some planets, went to some parties… and had a generally fantastic time!”

Gwen and Tosh looked at Ianto with concern, as though expecting him to crumble with despair at the thought of Jack having a good time with the Doctor. But he just smiled at them as he finished his doughnut and Jack continued.

“Oh, and the weekend was pretty good too! But enough of that, we’ve got rift activity so come on,” he moved forwards and grabbed a doughnut before turning and sweeping down the stairs. “Let’s get to work!”

The team sat stunned for a moment before they all scrambled to finish their coffees and stuff the remainder of their doughnuts in their mouths. Ianto watched them run after Jack for a moment before following at a much more sedate pace, smiling to himself as he met Jack’s eyes from across the hub. As Jack was shrugging into his greatcoat, the pendant tucked under Ianto’s shirt flared with warmth and he followed Jack out to the SUV feeling lighter than he had in a long while.

From Ianto’s perspective, it seemed this arrangement was going better than he ever thought possible. And every time the alien necklace heated up against his skin, Ianto couldn’t help the small, secret smile that crossed his lips. He may only have a claim to one piece of Jack’s heart, but he was now sure that there was more love in that one piece than most people were lucky enough to experience in their lifetimes. And he would cherish it for as long as he possible.


End file.
